Idyll 2

2. The Sorceresses Where are my bay-leaves? Bring them, Thestylis; where are the charms?

Wreathe the bowl with crimson wool of a sheep,

that I may bind by sacrifice the cruel man I love,

who, wretch that he is, has not come to me these twelve days,

and does not even know whether I am dead or alive.

Nor has he knocked, the heartless one, at my door. Ah, surely Love

has gone off elsewhere, taking his fickle heart, and Aphrodite too.

Tomorrow I will go to the wrestling-school of Timagetus

to see him, and reproach him for the way he treats me.

But now I will bind him with burnt offerings. Yet, Moon,

shine fair; for to you I will softly sing, divinity,

and to Hecate of the underworld, before whom even the dogs tremble

as she comes over the graves of the dead and the black blood.

Hail, dread Hecate, and to the end stand by me,

and make these drugs no weaker than those of Circe,

or of Medea, or of golden-haired Perimede.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

First the barley-meal melts in the fire. Now scatter it,

Thestylis. Poor fool, where have your wits flown to?

Am I now even to you, you wretch, a thing to mock?

Scatter it, and say these words: I scatter the bones of Delphis.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

Delphis has grieved me; and against Delphis I burn

this bay; and as it crackles loudly when it catches fire,

and suddenly is kindled, and we see not even its ash,

so may the flesh of Delphis too be turned to ash in the flame.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

As I melt this wax with the god's help,

so at once may Delphis of Myndus melt with love.

And as this brazen wheel turns by Aphrodite's power,

so may that man turn restlessly about my doors.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

Now I burn the bran. And you, Artemis, who can move

even the adamant in Hades, and whatever else stands fast—

Thestylis, the dogs are howling for us through the town.

The goddess is at the crossroads. Strike the bronze, quickly.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

See, the sea is silent, and the winds are silent;

but the anguish within my breast is not silent,

for I am all on fire for him, who has made me, poor wretch,

no true wife, but vile and no maiden any more.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

Three times I pour libation, and three times, lady, I say this:

whether it is a woman that lies beside him, or a man,

may he forget them as utterly as they say once Theseus

forgot fair-haired Ariadne on Dia.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

There is a plant called horse-madness among the Arcadians, and for it

all the colts and swift mares run wild upon the hills.

So may I see Delphis too, and may he come to this house

like a madman, hurrying from the bright wrestling-school.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

This fringe Delphis lost from his cloak,

which I now pluck apart and cast into the fierce fire.

Alas, cruel Love, why have you fastened on me and drunk

all the black blood from my flesh, like a marsh leech?

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

Tomorrow I will grind a lizard and bring him an evil draught.

But now, Thestylis, take these herbs and smear them

on the lintel of his door above, while it is still night,

and say, spitting as you go: I knead the bones of Delphis.

Iynx, draw that man, my lover, to my house.

Now, being alone, from what shall I begin to weep for my love?

Where shall I start? Who brought this evil upon me?

Anaxo, daughter of Eubulus, went as basket-bearer for us

to the grove of Artemis, around whom that day many other

wild beasts were led in procession in a circle, and among them a lioness.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And Theumaridas' Thracian nurse, that blessed woman,

who lived close by my door, begged and entreated me

to come and watch the procession; and I, ill-fated,

went with her, trailing a fine linen gown,

and wrapped about me the shawl of Clearista.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And already at the middle of the highway, where Lycon's house stands,

I saw Delphis and Eudamippus walking together.

Their beards were yellower than helichryse,

and their breasts gleamed far brighter than you, Moon,

as men just come from the fair labor of the gymnasium.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And as I saw, so I went mad, so my heart was set ablaze,

ill-fated that I am; and my beauty wasted away, and I gave no thought

to that procession, nor did I know how I came home again;

but a parching fever shook me to pieces,

and I lay on my couch ten days and ten nights.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And my skin often became the color of dye-weed,

and all the hair fell from my head, and there was nothing left

but bones and skin. And to whose house did I not go,

or what old woman's home did I leave unvisited, who knew spells?

But there was no easing of it; and time sped fleeting on.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And so I told my slave-girl the truth:

Come, Thestylis, find me some remedy for my cruel sickness.

The man of Myndus possesses me wholly, wretched as I am; but go

and watch by the wrestling-school of Timagetus;

for there he haunts, and there it pleases him to sit.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And when you find him alone, nod to him quietly,

and say Simaetha calls you, and lead him here.

So I spoke; and she went and brought the sleek-skinned Delphis

to my house; and I, when I marked him

just now crossing my threshold with a light step—

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came—

I grew all colder than snow, and on my forehead

the sweat poured down like the moist dew,

nor could I utter a sound, not even as much as children

whimper in their sleep, calling on their dear mother;

but I stiffened all over like a doll, fair body and all.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And when the loveless man looked at me, fixing his eyes on the ground,

he sat on the couch, and sitting he spoke these words:

Truly, Simaetha, by just so much have you outrun me

as I once, the other day, outran the graceful Philinus in the race,

by calling me to this house of yours before I came to you myself.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

For I would have come—yes, by sweet Love I would have come—

with two or three friends, as soon as it was night,

keeping apples of Dionysus in my bosom,

and on my head white poplar, the holy shoot of Heracles,

twined all about with purple ribbons.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And if you had received me, that would have been welcome; for I am called

nimble and handsome among all the young men;

and I would have slept content, had I but kissed your fair mouth.

But if you had thrust me away, and the door were barred with a bolt,

then surely axes and torches would have come against you.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

But now I said I owed thanks first to the Cyprian,

and after the Cyprian to you, who, woman, snatched me second from the fire

by calling me to this house of yours,

half-burned as I was; for Love, indeed, often kindles

a blaze fiercer than Hephaestus of Lipara.

Consider, lady Moon, whence my love came.

And with his cruel frenzies he scares the maiden from her chamber

and the bride, leaving the bed still warm

with her husband. So he spoke; and I, too quick to believe,

took his hand and drew him down upon the soft couch.

And quickly flesh ripened upon flesh, and our faces

grew warmer than before, and we whispered sweetly;

and—that I may not chatter long to you, dear Moon—

the greatest things were done, and we both came to our desire.

And he found no fault with me, nor I with him,

until yesterday. But there came to me the mother

of Philista, the flute-girl, and of Melixo,

today, just when the horses were running up the sky

bearing rosy-armed Dawn from Ocean.

And she told me, among much else, that Delphis is in love,

and whether it is desire for a woman or a man that holds him

she said she did not know for certain, but only this: that ever for Love

he poured a toast of unmixed wine, and in the end went off in haste,

and said he would deck that house with garlands.

This the stranger-woman told me; and it is true;

for indeed he used to come to me three and four times a day,

and often left his Dorian oil-flask with me;

but now it is twelve days since I have even set eyes on him.

Has he not some other delight, and forgotten me?

Now I will bind him with these love-charms; but if he still

grieves me, by the Fates he shall knock at the gate of Hades.

Such evil drugs, I tell you, I keep for him in my chest,

learned, mistress, from an Assyrian stranger.

But you, fare well, and turn your steeds toward Ocean,

lady; and I will bear my pain as I have endured it.

Farewell, bright-faced Moon, and farewell, you other

stars, attendants on the wheel of quiet Night.